Dance Me Back To Love
by vintagedream
Summary: She left fifteen years ago without saying goodbye. Now, summoned back to Hogwarts to once more become a member of the Order, how will she keep her most precious secret from the man she never stopped loving?
1. Prologue

Dance Me Back To Love

He sat there, still and silent, staring into the flames of a dying fire. One foot, rested on its opponent's knee, his head resting in his hand. It was one of many sleepless nights he had never grown quite used to over the past twenty years.

He still saw her smile when he closed his eyes, could still feel her hands caressing his skin, as he lay naked beneath the bed sheets. She had hurt him, ripped out his very soul. He hated that he could not block her from his memory as she had undoubtedly done.

Suddenly, the mark that had been embedded in his skin on his forearm all those years ago, burned with a sharp pain. He was startled out his reverie. He had work that beckoned to be taken care of. She could wait.

note: Aleasia is pronounced A-lee-see-ia 

The evening was one of beauty that sang of a deceptive calm. In the center of the courtyard, the granite fountain brought to life the sound of running water that came in an endless arched stream from the mouth of a sculpted fairy. It had been one of her favorites years ago when she was a student at Hogwarts. Sitting along the wide wall that encompassed the fountain she thought how little some things had changed.

"I don't know, Albus…I just don't know if I could face him…" Her soft voice, thick with worry, carried through the short distance to land upon the ears of her long-time friend and mentor.

Albus Dumbledore, knowingly, allowed a few moments of silence, a chance for the young woman beside him to relive past memories, to gather her thoughts and calm her emotions. "You are needed here, Aleasia."

Needed, yes, she had heard that same word from many souls in her young life. Yet still she wasn't sure exactly what it meant. She sighed.

"I assume you would have me take a teaching post here at Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore nodded, casually. "Defense against the dark arts, it is the perfect position for you, our circumstance set aside."

Silent again, Aleasia let her eyes wander through the fast approaching night to take in the subtle beauty that was Hogwarts. In truth she had thought many times over the years of returning to her old school to teach, many times only one thing stopped her.

Thinking of his ever-lingering presence made her pulse race and her knees tremble. He would not forgive the hurt she left him. She could not forgive his lack of perceptiveness. Why he had never come after her in all these long years since their separation, she would never know.

"And Malyia, what of her?"

"I would expect that she would enroll here at Hogwarts as a student. I shall, of course, leave her living arrangements up to your parental judgment."

Aleasia leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she buried her head in her hands. A pose she often took when upset. "All right, Albus. Though I do have one stipulation?"

An eyebrow rose on the old man's face as he waited for the inevitable.

"No one is to know that Malyia is my daughter. No one, Albus."

It was with some degree of trepidation and long-acquainted pain that Aleasia walked away from the headmaster then. Having agreed to his request that she play an active role in the order of the phoenix was one thing, after all, she had been a member once before. To live in a castle where a man she had never quite managed to stop loving walked the same halls, was entirely another.

Albus Dumbledore watched her off in the distance, as she made her way to the gates of Hogwarts and apparated away to the home she had occupied for the past several years. He sighed; he missed the young woman's presence. Her willful spirit he had enjoyed during the time she was a student and years after as she proved herself to be one of most talented witches he had seen pass through Hogwarts in all his years as both a teacher and headmaster.

Something had gone wrong years ago, it had left both parties injured and bitter. And for once, Albus was at a loss how to mend the two people he most cared about.

His last thought, before he made his way back into the castle, was how interesting the fast approaching school year was promising to be.


	2. Chapter One: Gone My World

**Chapter One: **

Gone, My world

Malyia was not one sit on the sidelines waiting for others to dictate her life or miss out on wonderful opportunities simply because she was afraid. Quite the contrary, Malyia was considered by many to be outspoken, strong willed, and sarcastic. But there was one person in this world that could bend her to her will and make her see reason, her mother.

Over the years, Malyia had overcome obstacles most never see in their life. Due to her mother's renowned name as a respected auror, she had attracted the attention of many dark wizards and watched as her mother curbed their intentions with an ease born of those with wings who fly. She had admired her mother's strength and held her pride in a corner of her heart that was deeply and often cherished.

Growing up without a father had not been easy for Malyia. Many times she had asked her mother about her father. Many times she would receive no answer. She forgave her mother this flaw for with it came a million right chords.

How extraordinary a woman she is, Malyia thought almost daily. She had swaddled Malyia with love and affection, taught her right from wrong, protected her from harm when she could not defend herself and stood to the side encouraging when she would attempt to face down her own demons.

Ever since she was a little girl, her mother had told tales of exotic scenery, with heroines and heroes alike, who strove together to conquer defeat. She told of passionate love between a man and a woman and of the heartbreak that may sometimes ensue. It was her stories that Malyia figured some years ago that held the truth of her mother's mysterious past.

Above all she respected her mother, and loved her with an appreciation few children reward their parents. So when her mother came to her one evening after having been gone most of the day and told her they were to move to England, what else could Malyia say but that she would make the best of such a difficult situation?

As the week wore on, Aleasia became increasingly aware of Malyia's unusual submissive behavior. Her wisdom and perception far out weighed her age, however, and she knew just what it was that her daughter mourned inside her.

They had sat down to dinner at the breakfast nook in the kitchen, most of their home being in a cluster of boxes full of cherished possessions. She reached out and placed a hand over her daughter's.

"You will miss your friends?"

Malyia's eyes watered at the obvious reminder that she should have to leave them behind very soon. She nodded.

"You shall make new ones." Aleasia attempted to fill her voice with optimism.

"Oh, Mama!" Malyia exclaimed, setting her fork down and turning to face her mother. "You don't understand! We've traveled most of my life. First with the gypsies, then later for means of safety! When we finally settled here in America I was able to make a full life for myself. I had friends, I attended school…now we are leaving again?"

She threw herself into her mother's arms, burying her tears in her mother's bosom. "I will go, I will make new friends, I will do this all with a smile on my face…but tell me why, Mama, tell me why we have to leave?"

Aleasia sighed. "Oh, my sweet little girl, how I hate to see you hurt so bad!"

"Why, Mama?"

"Your godfather has asked for my help."

"Albus?" Malyia's head popped up at the mention of his name.

"Yes… you see, there is a fierce war in the making over in England. You remember I told you about Lord Voldemort?" Malyia nodded. "Well, he has returned and is steadily gaining power. I once pledged my allegiance to the light in this war, and I shall uphold my obligations as such. Do you understand?"

"Yes Mama. I would want you to fight this war as well, even if it does mean moving to England."

Aleasia ran her left hand down the side of her daughter's right cheek, admiring not for the first time how blessed she was to have borne such an understanding and strong child. Returning to their neglected meal they ate in silence once more, until Aleasia gathered that there was still more Malyia was worried about.

"Malyia, what is it?"

She watched as her daughter continued to push the food around her plate, not meeting her eyes and debating the wisdom of revealing her thoughts to her mother.

"It's just, well, you once told me my dad was from England. Do you think, well, I mean do you think he would he want to see me?"

Aleasia inhaled a great gust of air, filling her lungs to capacity, then letting it out with a slouch of her shoulders. To buy time, she lifted the dishes from the counter and brought them to the sink for washing later. Clearing the food from the stove and counter with casual flicks of her wand, she thought of how she might answer her daughter's question. There was no doubt in her mind that Malyia would get to know her father quite well, after all, he was a professor at the school she would attend. Only, her father did not know of her existence and she was not sure yet if she would reveal that secret to him or not.

"I don't know Malyia. We shall see."

It was the night before they were to leave for Hogwarts that found Aleasia lying with her daughter in her bed. Wishing away the hurt that filled her and her daughter at the sudden changing of their fate. She stroked her daughter's back through her flannel nightgown as she had often done when she was a little girl.

"I find it so hard to believe you are already fifteen!" She said to her daughter by the light of a single candle that sat on the bed stand.

"Mama, don't start your crying again!"

Aleasia chuckled. "I can't help it, it was just yesterday when…"

"Yes I know, it was just yesterday when you could hold me in your arms."

Aleasia fell silent then, the sarcasm radiating from her daughter's voice bringing the unwanted image of a dark man to her mind. She studied her daughter. Her hair was as black as the midnight sky, thick with curls, her skin pale and her eyes like the color of melted chocolate. She had long since begun her menstrual cycles but only just began developing the curves of a woman. She smiled, remembering all those days of late that her daughter had come home in a temper cursing the God's and demanding to know why she did not have boobs! After all, all her friends had them!

"Mama, you mentioned that I would not be able to tell anyone who I am?"

"For your protection, Malyia, I don't want anyone to know that I am your mother. You shall use the sir name Sage after my mother."

Malyia said nothing but nodded against her.

"Darling, I've explained to you before the four houses of Hogwarts, right?"

Again, she received a nod.

"Albus has left the decision to me as to whether you shall stay in your house dormitory with the rest of your house or in separate quarter's with me."

"Oh, Mama, please let me stay in the dorms!" Malyia had sat up, abruptly, staring her mother in her obsidian eyes. "I have to stay with the other students, what will they think if I don't? Especially since I can't tell them you're my mother! Not to mention, how am I ever going to make any friends if I am not allowed to share their dorms?"

Aleasia remained silent, taking in her daughter's words but debating the wisdom in allowing her this concession.

"Mama!" Her daughter yelled, taking her lack of response in disagreement.

"Alright, alright." She sighed. "If that is your wish, then I shall grant it! After all, you have agreed to move half way around the world for me, it's the least I can do."


	3. Chapter Two: She came, Unbidden

**Chapter Two:**

She Comecame Unbidden

The staff dispersed after a rather short yet interesting meeting held in the headmaster's study just three short weeks before the students were due back to Hogwarts after summer vacation.

Lingering amid a warm room scattered with chairs and a long oak table, the professors waited until the headmaster had excused himself before speculating about the news he had delivered.

Many opted to leave, having little patience for such trivial cares, others; those closest to the headmaster stayed. Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, and Snape remained seated for another hour after the meeting had let out. The later doing nothing but observing the comments of the others, adding not a single word to anything that was said.

"I've never known Albus to be so secretive about such matters! Really, keeping the identity of the new defense teacher unknown, why, what are we supposed to think?" Minerva cried in distress. Though, if truth were told she was more concerned about what reasons lurked beyond the secret rather then knowing who it would be that would join their staff and what to expect from her.

"Indeed, the only thing he told us was that the professor was to be a woman! He did not even see fit to share with us her credentials!" Squeaked Flitwick.

The conversation was long and in the end, concluded very little. Severus Snape sat still and silent, and if one were to cast a quick glance in his direction they would swear he wasn't even listening to a word being said. However, quite the contrary was true.

Years as a spy for the dark lord had built a myriad of unique mannerisms that Severus was loathe to not practice even for an unguarded second. He could sit in such surroundings thinking of the research he had been recently gathering for theories on potion cures such as for lycanthropy while his ears picked up every shred of information someone might be so careless as to throw his way.

No, what he was thinking now was much more disturbing. He had far more reason to dread who this incoming new body was, as the evidence of his predicted displeasure was written all over the headmaster's face as he locked eyes with his esteemed potion's master to deliver the mysterious news to the staff.

The only question was, who was this woman? There were many he would prefer not to be around. Some for reasons pertaining to his cause as spy, others for their blatant stupidity, very few, however, were due to personal complications.

Noticing that the professor's were now making their excuses to get back to their last minute lesson plans and classroom preparations, Severus too arose, thinking he might enjoy a warm walk to Hagrid's hut before returning to the castle for dinner.

It came all at once too long and too soon, the journey to Hogwarts castle. Malyia was quiet and pensive during most of the carriage ride up to the school's front gate, while Aleasia had done her best to lighten the mood by injecting some degree of enthusiasm in her voice as she remarked on the scenery and fond memories from her own time spent as a student on these very grounds. Though if truth were to be told, she wasn't sure exactly her daughter was more anxious about their arrival as she was. After all, the young girl didn't know that before the day was out they would most likely be meeting her father.

Having failed, once again to lighten her daughter's mood. Aleasia stepped out of the coach first, greeted instantly by a pair of welcoming arms. It was a moment before she realized that the woman hugging her was the one and only Minerva McGonagall.

"Oh, Minerva! How wonderful to see you!" Aleasia gushed; fond tears of relief at finally being back to the one place she had always counted her home among all others sprang unexpectedly to her eyes. All these long weeks she had been too nervous about her reconcile with Severus to give any thought to the wonderful realization that she would be back among the people she had once called her family and in a castle she had spent over twenty years living within.

"Oh, Aleasia! I could just about throttle you! How dare you leave us all those years ago, without so much as an explanation!" To her own consternation, the old woman found her own tears leaking down her cheeks as she examined the beautiful woman standing before her. Noting that she had not aged a single day.

"I don't know words enough to apologize for any hurt I may have caused you! I was too young and too scared to have realized my parting might have brought pain to so many people."

Minerva nodded her head, accepting the sincere apology with little more. "Yes, well, that's all in the past now, isn't dear?" She paused a moment, looking upon Aleasia as though to ascertain she was truly there. "I should have words with the headmaster! He refused to tell anyone who the new defense teacher was to be! I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you step out of that carriage!"

Just then, Minerva's eyes caught on the girl who had stood throughout their entire dialogue with only curiosity and frank interest plastered upon her face.

"Who is this?" Minerva asked.

"This is Malyia. She's the transfer student from America. As our journey was the same, Albus asked that I escort her myself to the school." Aleasia placed a reassuring hand on the small of her daughter's back. This would be the first introduction in which she would have to role play a part; pretending as though the two knew little of one another other than what was learned during the carriage ride.

Minerva beamed. "Ah! How wonderful it is to meet our newest student! You shall be a fifth year if I'm not mistake, yes?"

Malyia nodded. "Yes, and quite looking forward to attending the school I have heard so much about over the years."

"Well, child. Come along, then. We shouldn't have you two just standing out here on the steps. No doubt you're both tired from your trip. I shall show you both to your rooms."

Aleasia grinned down at her daughter as Minerva's back turned towards them. She remembered well, how much mindless chatter could come from a woman so seemingly stern. She had told her daughter all about the staff members she had once settled a life around, and so it was no surprise that Malyia was grinning back.

Two stops later, Aleasia found herself being led into her own chambers in the Serpents tower. "I still can't fathom why a Gryffindor such as yourself would find comfort living among Slytherin territory, ah well, you should be happy to know that Albus has restored your old quarters for you…though no one has habituated these rooms since you left you shall find it in need of a bit of perking up."

Minerva paused just before allowing the younger woman to step beside her and into her old rooms. "Oh my dear, I am truly, very happy that you have decided to come back to us after all these years. Not a day has passed when every single one of us hasn't missed your spirit in these halls."

Controlling the urge to cry once again, Aleasia gave forth a bright smile. "Ah, well, it shall fill these halls once more! I too am very glad to be home." She leaned over and placed a firm kiss on Minerva's lips. "I've missed you too."

Alone in her chambers, she had wished, as she looked around the desolate apartment, that Albus had found other rooms for which she could hide from the bittersweet memories left behind in this one.

Squaring her shoulders, she let out a long breath, preparing herself for what would undoubtedly be an emotionally strenuous day.

Three hours had passed and found Aleasia dressed in a thin black linen tank and pants, having grown overly warm in her robes as she moved about the warm space of her new home unpacking with a couple of house elves and her daughter.

Malyia burst through the door with more energy then she had exerted in the past three weeks, and Aleasia was glad that the castle seemed to have warmed her daughter's hurting heart.

"Mama, this has to be, hands down, the most amazing place I've been! Ever!" She threw herself, heavily, into an armchair across from where her mother was unloading a trunk filled with books unto the shelves built into the wall and around a grand fireplace.

"Wow." She said, grinning at her mother. "This almost makes me want to change my mind about living in the dorms."

About to respond to her daughter's wit, but unable to because there was a knock on the door, Aleasia sighed bracing herself for what must be at least her twelfth visitor that day. Each issuing more tears and smiles then the one before.

"It must be your Godfather, Malyia, he's the only one left who hasn't come to welcome us. Go let him in, would you, then go back to your own chamber where you can wash up before dinner!"

Malyia rolled her eyes! "We're here only a few hours and already the woman's nagging me to wash up before dinner!" She mumbled under her breath.

Aleasia, knowing her daughter was joking and meant no disrespect, only smiled at her retreating back. "I heard that!" She called.

"Oh Godfather you'll never believe—" Malyia opened the door, her exuberant greeting dying on parted lips as she realized the visitor was not her godfather, rather a young man with dark hair and dark eyes that made her wish she could retreat to the other side of the corridor to avoid. Refusing to surrender to her childish fears, she smiled brightly at this new acquaintance. "Sorry. I thought you were Albus." Extending her arm for the man before her to shake she was slightly put off when he did not return the favor. "Um, I'm Malyia, the new transfer student."

"Pleasure." Said the man, though his facial expression led you to believe it was anything but. "While you are a student, perhaps it would be prudent for you to address the headmaster as he relates to you. Professor, or headmaster, being among the most popular."

Malyia blinked. Who the hell was this guy? He certainly had a temper whoever he was. Once more, smiling adoringly into his eyes as though he had said the most intelligent thing in the world she made her way past him. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Well, I better be going, Professor Karly is inside unpacking yet, I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."

Having been left in the doorway without being properly escorted into the suite of rooms, he hesitated a moment with an armful of books, before deciding he might as well make his presence known to…what was it the chit had said her name was?

Having heard a silence through the wall where once she heard the distinct murmuring of voices, Aleasia called out a greeting. "Hello? Albus is that you?"

Severus froze. He knew that voice. He'd know it anywhere.

Having received no response, she tried again. This time standing from where she had been sitting on the floor, wiping the dust from her hands against her sheer black linen pants. "Albus?" Walking into the entry hall, she too could not trust herself to speak.

So there they stood, man and woman, facing each other with intense eyes and tense postures. Aleasia noticed the length of the man's black hair. He had grown it a good six inches since she had last seen him. Coming now, one third of the way down his back. His obsidian eyes were expressionless and she cursed the day she lost the talent to read him even at his most vulnerable. She allowed her gaze, to wander the tall length of his frame, realizing his shoulders were even wider, his muscles more defined then they had been fifteen years ago. More like a man.

A good five minutes had passed before she felt she could trust her voice. "Severus."

Severus started at the sound of her soft voice. How many times had he heard her speak his name? In the throes of passion, the anguish of a despairing heart, the condemning shouts when he had wronged her?

She looked, not a day older. Her golden hair falling near her waist in thick spirals; parted in the center and held off her face by two clips. Her brown eyes were alive with such a myriad of emotion as to ensure difficulty when attempting to dissect them. Only her body had changed over the long years he had mourned the loss of her love. Her breasts were fuller, her hips wider, waist narrower. In short, she had become a woman since last he had made love to her.

Betraying his heart, which called to him to take her into his arms and demand an explanation as to why she had abandon him all those years ago, he carefully maintained an air of indifference and set the stack of books he still held in his arms on a nearby table.

"Professor Karly."

Aleasia attempted a small smile. "Surly we are beyond such familiarity? With all we have been through together?"

"That was a long time ago. I've near damn well forgotten."

His words marked the desired effect. He watched with less satisfaction then he had anticipated as her head snapped back as though he had physically slapped her.

Warily, his eyes tracked her as she walked nearer, until she stood but an arm's length away. "You lie. I can smell your yearning, it is almost as great as mine."

Obviously this was the wrong thing to say. For Severus reached out both his hands, grasping her upper arms in such a firm grip as to bring just a hint of pain, he pulled her body close enough as to brush against his own.

"Such beautiful words masking such an ugly betrayal! I should beat you for the humiliation you burdened me with when you left not a week before our wedding!"

His words were spoken in a harsh whisper, his strength shaking her at intervals as if to merge some of his own sense into her.

Aleasia remained silent. She could no more tell him why she had left now then she could fifteen years ago. Only now, she would let him see her tears, she would allow him a glimpse of the pain she was wading in at there reconcile.

It was many seconds more before Severus realized he still held Aleasia in his grip and released her without gentleness.

He waved a hand towards the books he had brought. "Albus asked that I bring these to you. Good day."

And with no more said and not another assessing glance thrown in her direction, Severus left. Only the sound of the door slamming marked that he'd ever really been there at all.


	4. Chapter Three: Uncomfortable Penance

**Chapter Three:**

Uncomfortable Penance

Aleasia discovered, as the days moved on, that the wounds she had thought had healed with time had done nothing but conceal themselves, hidden away in a dark corner of her heart, seldom visited.

Seeing his face again, hearing his voice that was at once sharp as steel and as smooth as velvet…it left her weak and vulnerable. She felt again as she had all those years ago when she made the decision to leave. She felt as though her heart had been torn open. All of those sweet memories she had stored away for safekeeping came flooding back into her, filling her senses until she thought she would die with the pain of it.

As a result, she kept to her rooms. Knowing she could not bear to see his eyes look onto her with such fury, such despising distaste as they had upon their reunion. Not those eyes. Not those onyx orbs that had once lit to life whenever she walked into a room, that had held such passion and love within their depths whenever he took her in his arms. Not those eyes. No, never those eyes.

Albus Dumbledore came on a Friday night, bringing the news that an Order of the Phoenix meeting had been scheduled for the next night. She invited him in for tea, knowing by the gentle insistence lurking in his age worn eyes that he was not to leave until he said his peace.

"I did not take you for the type prone to avoidance." He had stated calmly with little more enthusiasm then one would require when conversing of the weather.

She had sighed then, confessing her fears to the man who had for so many years been like a father to her. "Perhaps it is avoidance. He's changed, Albus."

Dumbledore nodded. "Did you expect him not to in all this time?"

It took a minute for her to answer, flinching when she realized that it shouldn't. "Not like this. He's grown cold, unfeeling." She stood to stand nearer the hearth, hoping the flames would warm the ice that traveled inside her. "He always was good at controlling his emotions. Never letting anyone aware of what it really was going on within him. But now…it's almost as if he were dead inside."

Albus wisely let the silence hang for a moment. "He has had a trying few years since Voldemort's return."

"No, don't!" Aleasia commanded, turning around to refuse the worthless comfort he had offered. "You cannot sit there and tell me he has been this way only since Voldemort began his new reign." She shook her head. "No, I did this to him. It's little consolation that I had little choice in the matter."

Again it was silent, the warmth of the room carrying a pregnant array of emotion and thought. "I fear for Malyia. She is my daughter. But even more I fear for myself and for Severus. For she is his daughter as well."

And with that she had given in to the wracking sobs that caused her body a weakness strong enough to collapse beneath her. Curled on the hard wood floor, she found herself wrapped in Albus' arms, being rocked back and forth as though she were once again a child.

The classroom in which she would teach had been cleaned, decorated, and prepared to her liking. Her lesson plans were completed. She had finished unpacking her belongings in the suite of rooms she had not quite felt comfortable enough with to yet call home. Everything that had needed her attention had been seen to, awaiting the start of term that would begin in just two days time.

Indeed, all had been accomplished but steadying her hands and calming her nerves.

The Order of the Phoenix meeting was due to begin in a little over an hours time, yet here she stood, before a full length mirror wondering how she was supposed to carry on when even breathing seemed a difficult task when standing in the room where Severus was.

She'd dressed carefully this night, hoping to make a good impression on the many new members she would be meeting for the first time and to soften her harsh disappearance with the many old members she had once knew well and loved.

Her hair was pulled off her face, having pinned her curls to the crown of her head allowing just a few to fall free where they would. Her body was draped in a beautiful witch's gown. The sleeveless bodice was made of smooth red velvet where it then met with a flowing length of red silk.

He had always loved her in red. She wondered briefly if he still would.

Chastising herself for such foolish thoughts, she slipped on her shoes and made her way through the endless corridors until she found herself before the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office.

Before she could even utter a password, however, she was greeted from behind.

"I had just been past your rooms to offer you an escort. I'm glad you decided to make it after all."

Rolling her eyes as she spun around to face Albus, she could not help but feel irritated that he could be so free with his criticism. "This is why I am here after all, is it not? Though I must say I wonder how you would hold up had you been walking in my shadows!"

To her own frustration she found that instead of marking an effect on the headmaster, his blue eyes continue to sparkle behind his half moon spectacles. "I'm glad to see, at least, that none of your spirit has been lost over the years."

Taking her by her elbow, the gargoyle sprang to life revealing a narrow spiral staircase that took them directly to Dumbledore's study.

"We're a bit late, I'm afraid. Everyone should be waiting just through this door here." He said, indicating towards a thick oak door that blended so gradually with the study's many shelves and books that one would hardly notice it unless having it pointed out.

Coming upon the door, Albus paused in his steps to turn and face Aleasia. "Don't worry, my dear, it will be over and done before you notice it had come at all."

Then he turned back, and proceeded through the door, leading her into a room that held maybe thirty people all together. All of them seated around an old antique table, which she was sure, had been here since the founders themselves.

Immediately noticing that the chair, which had been left vacant for her, was seated next to Severus, Aleasia hardly heard the headmaster as he introduced her to the assembled.

"To many of you, this young woman is a familiar face you may have thought to never see again, to others she may be every bit the mystery as her drawn-out absence. Aleasia Karly is here as one of the most esteemed witch's I have had the pleasure of knowing. She has graciously left her home in America to aid in the war as she did fifteen years ago. Aleasia, I give you the order."

Realizing finally, that was her cue to be seated, she plastered a smile upon her face and shakily took a seat next to the man who was the bane of her mentality.

To her frustration she found that he was no more pleased with the seating arrangements then she had been.

Sitting beside the woman he had loved more deeply then his own life was not easy for Severus Snape. Indeed, had it not looked suspicious he would have walked to the other side of the room and chosen another seat so as not to be so close as to feel the heat radiating off the body he had once known so well.

She had worn red, he noticed. She had always looked so damn beautiful in red.

He idly paid any attention to his surroundings, as they went around the table discussing this or that order business. For now, he would simply listen and reexamine everything that was said later, as his brain refused to function well in such close proximity to Aleasia. Before too long, Albus was gesturing for him to stand and report what he had learned during his last meeting with the dark lord.

Standing, he took the opportunity he had been granted and walked to the space on Albus' right, directly across from Aleasia.

"As most of you will be aware, I missed the last order meeting as I had been summoned by the dark lord. The information he relinquished is hardly more then what we had been expecting. He is planning to offer salivations, as he has already done with the dementors and giants, to other dark creatures such as werewolves and vampires. His plan is to mould an army that shall be indestructible to even his most prominent foes."

To this he cast a pointed look towards Dumbledore and Aleasia.

"Now, to move on to new territory, the dark lord has informed me that he does indeed know of Professor Karly's return to Hogwarts. In fact, he has offered a most generous reward to any death eater who will bring her to him alive and unharmed. It will come as no surprise to any of you who the leading contender is."

Severus took in the surprise that lit Aleasia's eyes, wondering to himself why she wouldn't have been expecting this upon her arrival.

On Aleasia's behalf, however, she rather felt she had too much else on her plate to have even given a thought to how Voldemort would react when he realized that she was indeed a member of the order once again.

A middle-aged woman with bright red hair leaned forward in her chair, hesitantly. "I'm sorry Severus, perhaps I'm just out of the loop, but why should you-know-who have such an interest in Professor Karly?"

To this, Mad-Eye Moody responded. "Cause' she's the greatest damn auror to walk our world 'cept for Dumbledore himself!" He slapped his knee in glee, obviously finding this trivial fact to warrant his pride.

Aleasia sighed. "He's taken an interest in me, Madame, because I was the only one to win a duel with him besides the headmaster before Harry Potter came along. I was an active member of the Order during Voldemort's first reign and was the result of many ruined plans on his behalf. Just before his downfall years ago, he had ignited a desire to…well,"

Severus took over where her hesitation caused an unfinished answer. "The dark lord desires her to wife." His eyes locked with Aleasia's across the table, an angry smirk lining his lips as he placed both hands upon the table, bracing his weight. "All though I'm not sure his plans would bear any fruit. Professor Karly rather has a problem committing to any one person!"

The room grew silent with tension. The older members, such as Moody and Lupin, were most familiar with Severus and Aleasia and the only few who were aware of their past and what Aleasia's sudden departure had caused Severus.

Aleasia's body began to tremble all over again, only this time from her blind effort to control her rage. "Meaning what, Severus? That I left you for another man?" Her voice was quiet, barely reaching the ears of those on the opposite side of the room.

Albus Dumbledore was tense with anticipation, he knew they were likely to have it out at some point or another. He had just hoped that it would not interrupt important order meetings.

Severus pushed his weight back until he was once more standing straight. Silently cursing himself as he realized that the words had come from his mouth without any thought. Ever since the beginning, he could not be around Aleasia without losing control of himself!

"Fuck." He whispered, striding quickly from the room without so much as a glance behind him.

His departure left nothing but speculation and silence. Aleasia felt the familiar sting behind her eyes signaling the arrival of tears, and she too left quickly behind Severus.


	5. Chapter Four: So it Begins, So it Comes

**Chapter Four:**

So It Begins, So it comes

Again it begins

The Order of the phoenix was abuzz with rumors and speculations. After the brief performance during the start of the meeting, how could they not be?

So it went without much conviction that Albus Dumbledore continued the meeting even after Severus and Aleasia's absence. He explained to one and all that which Severus did not stay to discuss but which held magnificent proportions all the same.

"I'm afraid I am not at liberty to describe the past between Severus and Aleasia. They have both confided in me over the years and I shall not betray their trust. However, I do feel obliged to impart the information that Severus left off, which takes us back to Voldemort's desire to wed Professor Karly.

All of Voldemort's death eaters, though in particular, Lucius Malfoy, have been propositioned to bring Aleasia to their master without harm done to her. It is his hope that in time, Aleasia will come to love him and if she does not, he is prepared to go to any lengths magical or otherwise to disillusion her emotions.

Though this is a significant concern of the order it only comes second place to that of Harry Potter. Aleasia, as Alastor Moody kindly pointed out earlier, is probably the most powerful witch of our age if not of all time. But she has her flaws, she is young and hosts an untamed spirit, which means she will be in danger of being manipulated into Voldemort's hands. We shall discuss this more at another time.

Now, to bring matters back to Harry who shall be arriving here with the other students tomorrow, I think it is most prudent to state that Aleasia shall be working one on one with him to train his powers into their full potential…"

The next day dawned having mocked both Aleasia and Severus in the night by denying either of them any sleep. Severus awake and speculating just what had caused Aleasia's departure, if indeed it was another man, drowned a bottle of fire whiskey and cursed himself once again for his lack of control. Meanwhile, only one small flight of stairs above her once lover's own quarters, Aleasia mourned the love that she had risked when she fled so many years ago to protect not only her unborn child but Severus as well. She wondered how he could possibly taint the passion she had held for him by accusing her of leaving for another man. Was he so blind as that?

Regardless, though, of their aching hearts and anguished souls, this was the day that Hogwarts would open its doors to welcome back the students who would so eagerly flood the castles halls. So they each finished their tears in their separate showers, dressed with care, and headed to the Great Hall where the headmaster himself would hand out last minute preparations to them.

The day passed in a flurry of activity. Every classroom in the castle was to be cleaned and cleared of all unwanted items. Final preparations for lesson plans and students extra curricular activities were made amid a long oak table in the great hall, layered so thick in books, parchment, quills and ink pots that you could scarcely find the table beneath it all. Teachers and staff came and went as they desired, leaving both Severus and Aleasia free of each other until the evening crept beside them.

Malyia had stayed in her mother's chambers that day, hoping that being amid her mother's possessions and the scent of her that lingered in the air would calm her mounting nerves. This was to be her first night as a student of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. She would sit at the Gryffindor table, surrounded on all sides by eager students who would joke and talk with the friends they had made years ago when they began their first year at Hogwarts. It all made her feel so very alone.

She set aside the book that had been lying open in her lap as she heard her mother enter the apartment. A simple glance out the grand windows informed her that it was well past dusk. Soon the students would arrive.

"Oh, Malyia, sweet girl, I thought you'd have been dressed and ready by now. I sometimes forget how even the bravest of souls may tend to cower when faced with great adversary." Said Aleasia as soon as she spotted the desolate form of her daughter sitting in her favorite armchair. Walking towards her, she placed a comforting hand on Malyia's knee, her other stroking the curls of her dark hair.

"Come. Let us do something magnificent with your hair!" Aleasia pulled her daughter from her seat and led her into the adjoining bedroom. Determined, to see a smile on her face before they walked together to the great hall to join the welcoming feast.

A young man with raven black hair and emerald eyes for a moment forgot about his two best friends standing beside him. He forgot that he was standing in the middle of the doorway and that the students behind him would be eager to go through the threshold. For a moment, all he knew was what he saw and this achingly familiar feeling of being homebound.

He stood in a majestic archway that led into the great hall. As it was the first day of term beginning his sixth year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry there would be a feast to welcome the students back.

"Harry, come on! You're holding up the line!" Ron said, shoving an elbow into his friends rib as to get his attention. He and Hermione were battling the younger students who were trying to push there way past to make entrance into the hall.

Startled from his reverie, Harry simply grinned and led the trio to the seats they had claimed as their own nearly six years ago at the Gryffindor house table. He sat between Hermione and Ron, greeting his fellow housemates as they appeared and inquiring of every one's summer vacation.

In a pause between conversations his eyes drifted up to the head table where he sought and found the familiar twinkling blue eyes he always looked for when in need of comfort or advise. Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, caught Harry's eyes and offered him a subtle wink. Tilting his head just slightly to his left he gestured for Harry to see whom it was who would be filling the defense against the dark arts professor this year.

Looking he saw an incredibly beautiful witch seated with a hand resting on Professor Dumbledore's arm while chatting animatedly with him. Her dark brown eyes glittered with excitement and her blonde hair that went to the middle of her back in thick spirals caught the light from the candles making it shine.

Ron let out a soft whistle. "Can't wait to have class with her!" He said, having followed Harry's eyes with his own. Harry could not but respond with a nod of his head.

Hermione, having caught the exchange rolled her eyes. "Honestly, she could turn out to be worse then Snape and you two wouldn't notice."

"Ah, Hermione, that's where you're wrong."

"Yeah," Harry said. "No one who looks like that could be such a git as Snape."

"Well, she does have her moods, I'll tell you that much!" Came a new voice, an unfamiliar voice from behind the trio of friends.

"Who are you?" Demanded Ron rather rudely as he found his eyes sweeping the figure of another pretty new face.

"My name is Malyia. I'm the new transfer student from America."

To this, Hermione jumped from her seat. "My name is Hermione. Ron and I heard all about you, of course, on the train. We're prefects. So you're in Gryffindor?"

It was with relieved eyes as Aleasia watched from the raised platform that situated the high table, as a small group of friends opened their arms to her daughter. Allowing her a place to sit beside them and engaging her in conversation. Before even the headmaster stood to give his welcoming speech, she watched as her daughter threw back her curls and laughed.


	6. Chapter Five: Weep My Weary

**Chapter Five:**

Weep My Weary

Involved Again

The following day was wreathed with warm sunlight and clouds so close and thick as to disillusion you into thinking you could just reach out and grab a handful.

Aleasia had gowned herself in sheer violet so to keep away the heat of day, and while other professors were the epitome of decorum Aleasia was seen by several students hastening to the great hall for breakfast twenty minutes late! Indeed, having failed to remember that breakfast was now to be served at eight in contrast to nine during the holidays, Aleasia scarcely had time for a shower.

She was seen running down corridors with her lecture notes clasped in her teeth while her hands were busy securing her hair at the back of her head with a silver clip.

It was with enthusiastic anticipation that the students of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry were heard rumoring among themselves of Professor Karly's mysterious past and what her classes would entail.

And they were none of them disappointed!

For each of her classes, the students were only permitted into her class once she had observed them duel a partner. Then she walked to the front of the room and introduced a guest they were many of them familiar, Professor R.J. Lupin. The students stretched out at their desks and for ninety minutes observed a duel between two well-established wizards, taking notes on the correct posture and etiquette for dueling as Professor Karly pointed them out.

By the end of the day, as the students and staff gathered once again in the great hall for supper, the grand dining hall was abuzz with exciting recollections and exaggerated tales of their first day of school and the new defense against the dark arts instructor, Professor Karly.

Before the evening meal had finished, before the moon had made her ascent into the dimming sky, a letter had been sent into the boy's dormitory in Gryffindor tower with instructions to leave the bit of rolled parchment on the bed of Harry Potter.

So it was, nearing the nine O' clock hour, as Harry was stashing away the remaining contents of his trunk which had failed to be unpacked the previous evening, that the young man noticed the letter lying on the top of the scarlet coverlet of his four-post bed with his name scrawled across in unfamiliar script.

Curious, he untied the thin gold ribbon securing the mysterious scrap of parchment and read the inscription.

_Harry Potter,_

_Please meet me in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, in secret, as soon as you receive this letter. –Aleasia Karly, Professor_

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Harry quickly stuffed the note in his back pocket, grabbed his wand from the side table where he had set it, and turned around -- only to bump into Ron.

"Where you going?" He demanded.

"Oh, er, left my bag in the great hall. Better go get it." He lied, hurrying past his friend lest he have to offer any further explanations.

Ten minutes later found him stepping cautiously into the classroom he had been asked to, unsure of himself for answering such a curious summons. Walking silently into the room he found Professor Karly sitting behind her desk, rapidly scripting her quill across a long length of parchment.

"Er," Harry cleared his throat hoping to catch her attention.

She glanced up quickly, a smile gracing her young face as she caught sight of the boy.

"Harry!" She greeted. "Come on in, I'm sure you're more than curious as to find out the reason why I asked you here?"

He nodded, striding further into the room. Aleasia gestured to the small armchair situated beside her desk and he took a seat. Setting her quill aside, she rolled the parchment lying in front of her into a tight tube and tucked it into a desk drawer.

"So, Harry, how did you find your classes today?"

Still unsure of this unexpected meeting with his professor, Harry attempted to answer casually. "Better than last year, I 'spose."

Aleasia grinned. "Yes, no doubt you are thrilled to be rid of, er, _professor_ Umbridge."

A moment of silence passed between the two as they shared a tentative grin. Then Aleasia cleared her throat and straightened her back in her chair.

"Well, Harry, I shall keep you in suspense no longer. I asked you here tonight on behalf of Professor Dumbledore. He requested that I work with you this year, one on one, to help you tap into some of your, er, more substantial powers."

"But I don't—"

"Oh, yes you do." Aleasia stood, striding between each row of desks and picking up stray litter that had found itself there sometime during the day. "I'm sure you must be irritated past endurance from everyone insisting you shall one day be standing beside Dumbledore as one of the most esteemed wizards to ever draw breath, but there is some base of truth to it. You have, locked inside of you, powers that most could never even dream of. My job this year, is to help you find the key."

Having finished her inspection of the classroom, Aleasia walked back to Harry. Leaning her hip against a desk just a few feet away. She crossed her arms over her chest and regarded him with an avidly curious look. "I have known Albus Dumbledore almost my entire life. Indeed, I have come to regard him as the father I never had. And in all these years, never have I heard him speak so often of one particular student. He greatly esteems you, Harry, and not only because of the role you shall lead against Lord Voldemort."

Suddenly taken by a surge of compassion for the life this young boy must have lived, she walked over to where he sat and placed a warm hand against his cheek. "He has come to care deeply for you, for the person you are and the person he sees that you will become. You must not never doubt that."

Harry sat there, staring unabashedly into Professor Karly's eyes, and listened to her words with an ever-increasing interest. He felt her hand pressed gently against the side of his face and he marveled at a woman being able to show such compassion and affection to a boy she had just met. But he knew, from an instinct he could not place, that the emotion moving across her face was sincere, as were her words of comfort. And suddenly, so moved, Harry had to force back a lump of feeling rising in his chest lest it erupt and he make a fool of himself. He nodded his head, assenting to what exactly he couldn't have said, but somehow, someway, his professor seemed to have understood, for her smile brightened and she retracted her outstretched arm.

"Good. Then I shall meet you here in the classroom every Saturday evening at eight O' clock. If anyone asks, you can simply say that you are, well, taking remedial potions again this year. I am sure our dear Professor Snape will be more than willing to back our tale."

One day led into another, and soon the days led into a week, and that week led into another week, until those weeks become a month.

For Aleasia, the days were filled with as much joy as pain, as much hope as despair, and as much love as hate. She found a passion in teaching, passing the knowledge she had culminated over the many years of her lifetime onto younger, more impressionable minds that still had many years in which to learn what had already become second nature to her.

She watched her daughter blossom as she earned new friends and mastered her studies. It was almost as though her spirit had finally recognized 'home.' All at once it did not matter the places they had been together, the places they had left behind, all that mattered was that Malyia was finally living amid her mother's memories. She was coming to know the people who were most dearest to her mother's heart, the people her mother had considered family, the people who centered in the tales her mother had told her all during the years she was growing up.

And to Aleasia, it felt magnificent to be back amid those people, amid those memories. She enjoyed teatime with Minerva, luncheons with Albus, late night chats with Remus. She loved immersing herself in the work of the Order as she had once before. Knowing that she was fighting evil and making a profound impact on people's lives was all she had lived for at one point in time. But years had passed since then, she had become a mother and had made sacrifices in order to better give her daughter a more secure environment in which to grow up in. She had slowed her pace and so rarely had the satisfaction of using her magnificent powers in the fight she had always felt they were meant for.

But she had no regrets, held no remorse for her lost endeavors. For, she had embarked on the greatest journey of her life in becoming a mother. Truly she had.

But it did feel good to be home. To be fighting once more for the cause.

She enjoyed her private lessons with Harry Potter, the boy who lived. She began to know him, his likes and dislikes, his familiar mannerisms, that which made him laugh; that which made his short temper flare. She began to care for him. It was not a difficult thing to do. He was an enchanting young man, and often times, she came to find, he could evoke the near same emotions that she held for her own daughter. The same worries, concerns, the same pride in accomplishments. It made her feel secure in the knowledge that this was the boy her daughter had chosen to befriend.

Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley also became fast favorites. Perhaps it was only because she knew them outside of class. They attended Order meetings from time to time, and occasionally she would invite Harry's two closest friends to join them in one of their private lessons. But she came to enjoy them more than any of the other students, came to enjoy teaching them better than any of their classmates.

But so too did she grow miserable.

Each day she would endure meals, seated at the same table as the man who still held her heart in callous hands. Each day she would meet with him and fellow Order members, and they would lean over the same scrolls of parchment, talk to the same groups of people, contemplate solutions to the same vexatious problems. But never would he see her alone. Never would he offer her so much as a word or so little as a smile.

Perhaps she was as big a fool as any. But somewhere in the back of her mind, jumbled in with all of yesterday's thoughts and tomorrows planning, she had hoped desperately that the soul binding love they had once shared would somehow heal the wounds and fill the voids. That the feelings they had so passionately shared would reawaken and force their hands together once more.

But never did it happen, and as each day passed so did another chance, another heartbeat stilled, another ounce of breath deflated.

Until she grew so very weary of it all.

"No Harry, you are trying too hard."

Harry sighed, raking a hand through his black hair in frustration; he threw his wand on a nearby table and turned his back on it as though it had betrayed him. They had been at this for hours now, it was well past midnight, and it showed no signs of ending any time soon. He tracked with wary eyes as Aleasia lowered her own wand, her hands coming to her hips in a stance that clearly communicated her growing impatience. "This should be easier for you, Harry. You should not have to waste so much time in concentration. You have dueled the dark lord before, has he or his minions ever left you an opening long enough that you could take so much time to wield a spell?"

Harry shook his head, an irritated groan getting caught in the back of his throat.

Aleasia sighed, walking closer to her student and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Do not be so hard on yourself. It is still early in the year, perhaps I am expecting too much of you too soon."

"No!" Harry pulled himself away from her reach, angry with himself for being unable to strike Aleasia even once during their duel. "I can do this! I know I can do this! I have to--" His voice faltered, his mind resounding with the prophecy Dumbledore had told him of the year before as it had so many times since he began training with Professor Karly.

"Harry, you do not have to defeat the dark lord tomorrow, nor the day after. But time has a way of running astray when you are most in need of it. You must be ready." Aleasia reached out for him again, placing both hands on either of his shoulders, forcing him to meet her eye. "It may seem that we are all expecting far too much of you and far too soon. But I shall not stop pushing you, Dumbledore will not stop pushing you. Because if we do, it might just cost you your life."

But her words only furthered Harry's anger. He was well aware that his days were limited, they did not all need to keep reminding him! "I'm scared dammit! I don't...I don't stand a chance of defeating Voldemort. I can't even get past your defenses once, how am I supposed to--"

Aleasia tightened her hands upon his shoulders until her nails were nearly biting into the skin beneath his shirt. She shook him roughly, once, twice.

"You will not ever speak this way again! Is that understood? You shall defeat the dark lord, Harry! You will because you have far too much to gain from his destruction. You will because you have far more reason then does any one else. It is not fair that you are expected to do this, to battle for your life against Voldemort. It is not fair that we are all depending on you, weighing so much of our own hopes and dreams unto your shoulders. It is not fair! I know it is not fair! But you have been chosen Harry, and you would not have been if you truly did not possess all that it took to vanquish Voldemort once and for all. You have what all who have come before you lack. You must have faith in that. You must believe in that as though it were a God you were praying to. Only then will you be able to tap into the deep stream of your powers. Only then will you stand a chance."

She pulled him to her chest then, cradling his head into the crook of her neck as she might have held Malyia. She allowed her tears to run freely down her face.

"Weep, Harry. Cry your heart out. I will hold you until they dry."


	7. Chapter Six: Unicorn Bone and Magic

**Chapter Six:**

Unicorn Bone and Magic Both Dark and Light

Weary of Fury

The night reflected much of the tension that was surmounting in the over warm office. It was late, passions had been stoked, opinions had been argued, and tempers had been shortened.

The Order of the Phoenix, or at least a good majority of them, were seated around the same table and sat in the same chairs as they had for every other meeting since that first week before term.

Only tonight, there was much more at stake than any previous meetings combined.

Voldemort had made a move and it was none of them expected.

"It doesn't make any sense, why would, _you-know-who_, disband his inner circle and send them on fool errands into different parts of the world? What could he possibly be looking for?" Arthur Weasley paused to run a hand through his short, balding hair in a sign of frustration that was not lost on anyone in the room. He looked to Severus. "What is he after?"

But Severus did not answer. Instead, his eyes slid to the left, indicating that the question would better be directed towards Aleasia. Only, Aleasia was not forthcoming with her answers, instead her eyes had taken on a far away look and her head was shaking from side to side in adamant disbelief.

"If he had wanted that…No, the thought is too absurd to even contemplate. He would only do something so rash if he was desperate, Severus, he wouldn't do anything so rash!" Her eyes had sought the one person that was most natural for her to turn to in all her distress.

The irony was not lost on Severus. He found it revolting and somewhat comforting at the same time.

"He is desperate. He lost power after all those years living as a parasite. Coming into his body has reenacted the majority of his powers, but some were lost to the void. Some he cannot seem to regain control over."

"Still, Severus. Even with all that in consideration, open war is months away, at least. He has time. Risking so much for such a little concession?"

"You are by no means a little concession."

"That was an exceedingly difficult thing for you to say, was it not?" Aleasia grinned, but if Severus noticed he was hard pressed to show it.

"What the bloody hell are you two on about?" Growled Moody from the center of the table. He, along with the rest of the Order members, had been watching the dialogue between the two ex-lovers as though he were watching a quaffle being passed between two opposing teammates during a game of quidditch.

Aleasia sighed, having not the incentive to voice her thoughts. Severus recognized the signs, for he answered the question in her stead.

"There is told a legend of a magical artifact. An amulet made entirely out of the horn of a unicorn and cursed with magic both good and evil. It is said to possess the one who wears it, making their will easy to bend and their opinions easily swayed. The dark lord was interested in this artifact long before Potter's curse backfired. Only, he had not enough information to confirm its whereabouts."

He paused in his speech, intending to finish the tale; only by this time Aleasia had regained her composure. She continued where he had left off.

"Not only were the whereabouts a mystery, but also how to obtain the object once it was found. You see, legend tells that when the amulet was banished from use, a council consisting of the most esteemed witches and wizards of the time was brought together in turn to place protective charms on the home of the amulet. It would have been quite useless for Voldemort to find the amulet when at the time he had not a clue as how to deflect the curses securing its non-usage."

"You're telling me he's discovered the means to obtain it?" Arthur asked, his brow wrinkled in concentration.

Severus let out a frustrated groan. "I can't be sure. As I am stationed here at Hogwarts as a spy, there seemed no reason for the dark lord to confide in me about the amulet. But from what I have heard and not heard from others of his inner circle, I believe that he has stumbled upon the text that concedes all the spells ever cast over the amulet. If this is the case, it is only natural for him to seek out the elusive amulet."

"Only he still cannot be sure of where it is located." Aleasia sighed her agitation then went on. "The council made their plans on the intention that no one ever be able to find its location without grand purpose. Meaning that if anyone were to seriously attempt to find this damn thing it would take the better part of his or her lifetime."

The room fell silent for a brief moment before Arthur voiced his confusion once more. "This amulet, I can understand many scenarios in which it may prove to be useful, but for what exactly does the dark lord want with it?"

"He wants what he's always wanted." Came the hoarse voice of Moody as he stood to pour himself a glass of whiskey from the side cart laden with beverage choices. "He wants Aleasia, and he wants her powers. Hell, with Aleasia's powers combined with his own, Potter wouldn't stand a chance nor would anyone else for that matter. Not even Dumbledore."

"My dear, I'm quite sure you're an undeniably talented witch, everyone says so. But just what is so special about your powers that would make Voldemort crave them as he does?" Molly's worried eyes sought Aleasia's from across the table, her body leaning ever so slightly forward in earnest.

Aleasia released a hollow laugh. "For the average witch or wizard, their powers are tied to their emotions. Mine are too, only, they are also connected with…how should I put this? The elements surrounding me."

"You mean elemental magic?" Tonks demanded in an awe inspired voice.

"Not exactly, though I suppose if given the right circumstance…" Aleasia broke off with a thoughtful look on her face and shrugged. "I suppose the easiest way to explain would be to show you."

So they all watched, each member sitting around that long, ancient, oak table as Aleasia stood from her chair. She took a few steps away from the table, then, stood with her arms outstretched, her eyes closed. Within half a second, the inhabitants of the room began to feel a shift in magic, an ever so subtle change in the atmosphere around them.

Aleasia opened her eyes and narrated her actions to her audience. "I can control everything in this castle now, most obviously everything in this room. The table, the chairs, I could rearrange the halls if I so desired. I can even command the walls." She waved her left hand, and the granite wall that had for so many centuries stood strong and erect, its layers entangled with any number of protective enchantments buried in its stone, fell to the ground. One by one, each stone disintegrated itself from its neighbor, until, with a sound that rather resembled a volcano erupting, there was naught but a pile of rebel.

Waves of shock and awe fled like a wave through those newest members who had not been around in the last war to observe Aleasia's unique powers.

Aleasia waved her hand again, and silently the stones pasted themselves together again to build back the wall. She shrugged her shoulders, hoping to pass her display off as nothing to be fawned over.

"I can work with anything that is within my close vicinity. If I were in a forest I could command the trees, the vines, the wind. If I were near a lake, I could command the water, the seaweeds, the sand.

Only don't be too impressed, for the powers are much more difficult to control when I am feeling surges of strong emotion. When I am faced in battle I rarely ever can command more then a root to come out of the ground and trip my victim, or a vine to bind the wrists of my enemy."

Aleasia returned to her seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable in the scrutiny she was now being treated to. "If I were in battle, I probably could not have disintegrated a wall such I just did, breaking through the many magical wards that reside within the ancient granite. Those profound commands are limited to my many states of calm I'm afraid."

Still the silence reigned as though Aleasia had now become a creature they had never once laid eyes on before. "How…can Dumbledore even do that?" Someone asked.

There were no words to meet this inquiry; the answer was plain enough. No, even Albus Dumbledore could not display such wild, raw magic.

Then, bless him, Moody spoke once more and the tension that had quickly amounted in the room, dissipated into nothing more than a soft weight over everyone's shoulders.

"Damn eye hasn't been the same since that bastard wore it." He mumbled in that gruff voice of his, dropping his magical eye into the glass of whiskey he had just poured himself, as though what had just taken place was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I suppose the only question now is how to resolve the situation." The occupants of the room gave a start at the sound of Albus Dumbledore's voice. They had not notice his entrance into the conference room, having been too busy observing Aleasia's incredible show of power.

A silence settled its pulse over the room, its contemplative force giving and taking all the while.

The Aleasia's eyes grew wide. "Lucius." She whispered.

All heads swiveled in her direction though none so fast as Severus and Albus.

"I could so easily manipulate him. All I need do is disguise myself, immerse myself in his surroundings, somewhere that reeks of dark magic that he would be sure to take me into his confidence."

Severus sneered, failing to decide which he despised of more, the thought that Aleasia would use her sexuality on a man other then him or that she would be placing herself so openly in the line of fire. He was furious with himself for even caring. "You would sleep with him?" He growled.

"Dammit Severus, I was never your whore and I shan't be anyone else's!" Aleasia's chest and face flushed a soft pink as her anger rose quite suddenly at Snape's remark.

He only deepened his sneer, standing to pour himself…he didn't care what, so long as it was strong.

Albus appeared to be thinking Aleasia's plan over, watching her carefully all the while. "It would be to take a very large risk, my dear. Lucius is as cautious as they come. You would have to play your part well, disguise your powers, and you could never be certain if he would reveal such a grand secret to you."

"Not unless he was slipped veritaserum in his drink, while he was too busy admiring the view to notice." Aleasia smirked.

"Ah," Albus nodded in approval, but this only seemed to entice Severus even more.

"You always were so full of yourself! Do not think that Lucius has not his pick from several other women far more attractive than you!"

"Severus!" Albus snapped in rebuke.

Aleasia stood from her chair so fast it crashed to the floor. "If ever I was full of myself, Severus Snape, it was only the result of your enamored testimony to my beauty voiced to me so often, that even have I lost track in my memories!" Her voice was so loud it carried through the room, echoing from the stonewalls.

Severus' eyes narrowed, the only physical sign giving way to the fury within him. "If I was so loose with my compliments, Mistress, it was undoubtedly to ensure that you would be warm and wiling when I took you to my bed at night."

Aleasia's rage was a palpable thing beneath her heart. Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides, her eyes shooting flares into the dimly lit room. Before she knew what had happened, she lost control of her temper and her powers right along with it. In a force of unrestrained fury, the cart laden with drinks went crashing into Severus, pounding him into the wall he had stood not three feet away from.

"Aleasia, you will calm yourself this instant!" Albus' voice rose above the clamor of the other voices and the sound of teetering glass bottles.

Severus quickly swiped a hand through the air, noticing the cut running the length of his palm, blood dripping from the opened wound. "Fuck." He swore.

And for the second time the meeting was prematurely ended for Aleasia as she left the confines of the room, hoping to find refuge in the privacy of her own chambers.


	8. Chapter Seven: Treachery Masked

**Chapter Seven:**

Treachery Masked

Saturday night came slowly, more slowly then Aleasia would have liked. She stood before a full-length mirror and felt the determination and thrill build inside of her, settling against her stomach, as she admired her new appearance.

She had used a charm to straighten her hair, another to darken the gold locks until they were almost black as the night. Her eyes had been spelled to appear the color of the sea and her skin was toned a thicker shade of ivory. Yes, she would be quite unrecognizable tonight.

She had a spring in her step as she walked to the headmaster's office due, in no small amount, to the heady feeling of once again being tossed into the throes of danger.

Her enthusiasm was short lived.

There, waiting for her in the headmaster's office, was Severus Snape. He was not the only one of course, Remus was there, Moody, Molly Weasley, but he was the only one that made any move to deter the excitement the night had once held in store.

Albus Dumbledore opened his arms wide, a wide smile on his face as Aleasia walked into his office. "Ah, yes, you look magnificent, my dear!"

"You shall blend in beautifully in Knockturn Alley." Remus offered, placing a hand beneath her elbow in blatant approval. Such friendly gestures had become a source of uncompromising comfort to Aleasia in the past several weeks, as they had once been to her so many years ago.

"Indeed." Came a graveled voice from behind. "However, shall your plan not go, accordingly, I shall be there to offer the assistance you shall most assuredly need."

"Severus!" It was not a greeting, not even an acknowledgement. Instead, the name fell from Aleasia's mouth as an accusation, as the smile she had worn collapsed into a frown.

"Now, now, my dear." Soothed the headmaster in an effort to prevent another heated exchange of words. "Severus is quite right. Plans do have a way of running awry when you least expect them to. And should this be the case tonight, Severus shall be there to distract Lucius or, worse come to worse, offer you another allied wand to assist in your escape."

Aleasia's mouth dropped wide in preparation to launch into a tirade of protestations, but Albus' hand came up to silence her words before they even began. He glanced over his half-moon spectacles, locking eyes with the young woman standing before him, an angry flush covering her cheeks.

"You have both wronged each other. Fine. But for tonight, you shall let none of your anger come between the two of you and the tasks you have each been assigned. You, Aleasia, shall enact a seduction. You shall get Lucius off alone, dispense veritaserum to him and come back with the answers we need. Severus, meanwhile, will stay close to the shadows. He is only there to protect you should anything go wrong. I expect you to return the favor should circumstance warrant. Understood?"

Aleasia had clenched her fists at her side, her dark hair falling around her face as she nodded her head in assent.

Minutes later found Severus and Aleasia striding out into the night, heading past the lake and the forbidden forest in order to breech the anti-apparation wards that reached for miles in each direction, protecting the school from unwanted intruders.

Staring straight ahead, but ever aware of Severus' long strides stretching out beside her, Aleasia hissed into the night. "You did this on purpose you insufferable dick!"

Her companion grinned into the night, though it was not a thing of beauty. "Indeed."

Aleasia whipped around, halting her progress in mid-stride. It was a moment before Severus missed the sounds of movement beside him, then he too turned around, crossing his arms against his chest in an exaggerated display of his impatience.

Aleasia walked towards him purposefully, and though Severus could not make out her face in the dark of the night, he was familiar enough with her body language to know that she was enraged. He stood his ground as she came within inches of his own person.

"Why, Dammit?" She demanded. She was standing so close now that he could feel her warm breath brushing against his face. He ignored the sensation.

"You always get yourself too far in, that's why! I cannot even count the number of times you screwed up just such an assignment in a fit of temper. Nearly getting yourself killed in the process!" His eyes had narrowed in anger, his arms dropping to his sides with hands that itched to slap this woman before him who had dared to cause him so much pain.

"Why, Severus, I didn't know you cared." Her voice was leaking with barely restrained sarcasm, but before Severus could give voice to any of the hundreds of cutting remarks he had building behind his tongue, she continued her walking.

"I don't, dammit!" He hissed, though if she had heard him she gave no indication.

They quickly found the edge of Hogwarts grounds, and apparated simultaneously to Knockturn alley. When they reappeared, they were standing not three feet away from each other, lingering in the shadows cast by an old, three-story building.

"Where are you going to be?" Aleasia demanded.

"I will follow you."

Aleasia sighed, her shoulders sloping in obvious resignation. "Fine. Be sure to keep to the shadows, I shudder to think what would happen to you if your cover is blown."

Mocking the words she had used against him only moments before, Severus spat. "Why, Aleasia, I didn't know you cared." Only he was not treated to the reaction he had anticipated. She turned her body to face his own, her hand stealing out to brush cold fingertips along his tough jaw.

"I have always cared for you Severus. I always will."

Then she was gone, her agile frame creeping from the shadows, into the light of the moon. She crossed the street, and entered into the dimly lit pub, known for its dark contenders.

She found Lucius Malfoy immediately, her eyes raking in his solitary figure seated in a corner, high backed booth. He looked as though he had just rid himself of company. The table he sat behind was littered with half-full beer bottles and alcohol decanters of various forms.

She took her time, noticing how she drew the eyes of many lusty, inebriated men in her unfamiliar sultry disguise. She approached the bar slowly, bending over the counter to flirt with the bar tender as he fetched her drink order.

When the clear glass filled with amber liquid was secured in her hand, she turned purposefully towards Malfoy's table, relishing in the way his eyes raked over her figure, desire igniting behind his cold steel eyes.

She locked eyes with him, making sure he understood the silent request. _May I sit with you?_

With his usual amount of decorum and aristocracy, the elegantly garbed man inclined his head. _Please._ He said, though his mouth did not move.

So she pushed away from the bar, swaying her hips in a provocative fashion as she neared him. She gracefully folded herself into the booth, setting her glass silently atop the wood table that was sticky from spilled drinks.

"Lucius Malfoy, isn't it?" She dropped her voice into a husky whisper to better disguise herself and to make her false intentions known to the man.

His long, silver hair draped over his shoulders, his eyes raking her face with obvious pleasure.

"Indeed." He did not bother to ask how she knew his name, he was well enough known among wizarding society, especially by the specific clientele that attended this dim cavern.

"I would not have imagined you in a place so…common." It was not a statement; it was a question. The underlining message was clear. _Were you meeting someone? Are you alone?_

His gaze was calculating, assessing, utterly Slytherin. He chose his words carefully. "I had _business_ to attend." _It was not a polite meeting of friends._

They were reading underneath and in between the words they were speaking. Playing a game so intricate and deceiving as to ensure the both of them were aware of the rules.

"Hmm…" She put a finger to her mouth, tongue darting out to swiftly taste. Then she rested her arm back on the table, her wet finger circling the rim of her glass seductively.

Lucius' eyes followed her movements with the intensity of a hawk watching his prey.

"Not those fools belonging to the ministry, I hope. Something much more…_dangerous._"

In one quick movement, Lucius' hand darted underneath the table, reaching across the small distance between them and running the length of her thy. She tensed at first, such an obvious display of ill intentions so early in the game taking her completely off guard. But she relaxed, stretching a long leg onto the booth across from her, between Lucius' thighs. It was his turn to be taken by surprise.

"Indeed." He softly confirmed. Softly, he felt her foot press into his groin, and he had to bite his cheek to keep from groaning.

"I wonder; might we find a more comfortable apartment? Something more, private?" Her whisper seemed to ring across the distance.

Lucius raised his hand to signal for the bill, a blatant assent to Aleasia's invitation.

As the two of them were gathering their personal belongings, whispering a sexual banter into the other's ear when they thought no one would hear; Severus Snape was leaning against the wall, the hood of his black cloak pulled to darken shadows across his face and aid in his disguise, watching. Waiting for the moment when they would depart the pub, heading to a run down inn that would offer no luxury but instead a highly desired anonymity.

This was his moment.

Lucius casually placed a hand on the small of Aleasia's back, guiding her through the maze of tables and alcoholics. His eyes were glinting in anticipation. He had not come out tonight looking for a willing wench to bed, he had come to threaten and coerce a group of highly dangerous wizards into bending their wills to suit his own. Imagine his delight when this delectable little slut came sauntering in, offering her body to him as though she knew this night was one to be celebrated.

Once they were outside of the obnoxiously loud pub, Lucius steered her to the left. Further down Knockturn alley and into a run down house that, in its glory, may well have served the aristocratic society. Now, however, it was a common stop for men of all ranks. They would buy a room for a night and take their willing or unwilling tramps into the springy, uncomfortable beds and fuck them until you could hear the screams through the thin, adjoining walls.

And the woman he currently had his arm around was the most gorgeous slut he had been with in a very long time. Most likely, she wasn't a slut at all, more a woman of privilege who was planning her seduction accordingly. Most likely, she was married.

They stopped at the small desk in the entry hall. Aleasia noted that the owner was familiar enough with Lucius to call him by name.

The door closed behind them, and Aleasia was surprised to find a rather luxurious room with freshly painted walls, thick Persian carpets, and ornamental furniture that would surely have cost more then a years worth of incoming revenue had the owner been responsible.

Aleasia looked at him, an eyebrow raised in playful accusation. "Come here a lot?"

Lucius shrugged, sliding out of his soft wool cloak and tossing it over the back of an armchair.

"I long ago decided that it would be in my best interest to establish a, ah, meeting place such as this. Away from prying eyes."

Aleasia nodded. Lucius approached her, placing two hands on her shoulders to turn her back towards him. Slowly, seductively, and in a way that reminded Aleasia, suddenly, of her drawn out abstinence, he removed her own cloak from her shoulders. His face leaned into her hair, smelling, his breath tingling in her ear.

She gasped, allowing Lucius the impression that she was as eager for this encounter as he was. She turned into his arms, gave him a calculating look, and then turned back around, striding towards a side table that held a chest of cooled wine and crystal goblets.

"I am not a whore, Lucius Malfoy. I shall not be treated as one." She started pouring the wine into two stemmed glasses, talking all the while so as to distract the man behind her from her hands work. Slowly, she pulled a small vial of veritaserum from a hidden pocket of her maroon gown.

"Indeed? Then how might I have the pleasure of treating you?" His voice was not teasing. It was not cold or cruel. It was more a voice of inquiry, willing to hear the proposition of which he was sure would be forthcoming.

She glanced over her shoulder briefly to offer him a provocative smile, then turned back to watch her hands' progress. She tipped the contents of the vial into a single goblet.

"I am a married woman, but you have deduced that already, I'm sure?" She turned around one final time, holding both goblets of burgundy liquid in either of her hands.

Lucius nodded.

"My husband is old, you understand, unable to satisfy me in the arts of love making." She grinned. "I would castrate the bastard if he dared to try." Closing the last few feet between them, she offered him a goblet, which he arrogantly accepted without protest.

He brought the wine glass to his lips, regarding the beautiful stranger before him with amounting lust. He swallowed. Aleasia let out a soft sigh of satisfaction having had no difficulty in persuading the cautious man before her to drink the wine. He misinterpreted the sound to mean she was anxious.

He grinned. He took another sip of wine before setting it down on a near table. "Tell me, how is it I do not already know you? You are of pureblooded assent, I take it?"

Aleasia nodded. "My husband's manor is located in Rome, we have spent the last few years living peacefully there."

"I see." Lucius enclosed the last step between them, grasping her arms in a firm grip and hauling her against his hard chest. "You are proposing we become—"

"Lovers." Aleasia hastily interrupted. She watched as his eyes lost any expression of emotion, losing the clouded mist of desire that had lingered behind them ever since she took a seat in the booth with him. She recognized the sign for what it was. The potion had begun to take effect. "I shall eagerly become your mistress, only I ask for something in return."

"And what is that, my sweet?" He was maneuvering her, ever so slowly, towards the bed. Aleasia had not even realized how close she was until she was being laid gently onto the down covers. His body stretched out above her own, his hands wandering her thighs to part them.

For a moment, Aleasia was so taken aback she did not remember to begin her questioning. She had thought that Lucius' lust would be somewhat hindered by the effects of the tonic she had delivered him. She had not anticipated that things would progress so far. She was not prepared for it.

Intellectually she knew that Lucius was a lethal character. He was her sworn enemy, a man who would kill her at a moment's notice. But it had been so long, far too long, since a man had caressed her this way. She could not prevent her body from responding.

But then the moment was over. She regained control of her senses. She would finish what she had come here to do. "I want to know where the dark lord is sending his death eaters to find the amulet?"

So strong was the potion that Lucius did not even pause in his one-sided foreplay to acknowledge the significance of that question. He answered. "He has been looking for the amulet for years." He kissed her eyes shut. "He has narrowed it down to just a few possible locations." He kissed her neck. His hands busy with the buttons along her bodice, unfastening them and baring her breasts.

_Oh God,_ Aleasia thought, _this is going too far. It wasn't supposed to go this far._

And just as she finished the thought, Lucius fell still, his entire weight finally pressing into her.

"Lucius?"

She tilted her head back to see his face and realized with a start that he had passed out. "Lucius?" She shook him, attempting to wake him. No response. Shit. She struggled under his weight for a minute before realizing the uselessness of her endeavors. He was a strong man, he far outweighed her. She could no more shove his slack body off of her then she could a rampaging hippogriff. So instead, she called for help.

"Severus?" She yelled, knowing that he would be just outside the door. "Sev—"

She did not even have to finish his name the second time before he came bursting through the door, a look of intense concern labeling his face.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, taking in the scene before him, while unwanted fingers of jealousy crept through his body to tangle around his heart.

"I think I might have overdosed him…just a bit."

Severus rolled his eyes, stalking forward to remove Lucius' prone body from atop her. He settled his hands underneath the man's arms, heaving him off the bed, then dropping him with no amount of ease unto the hard floors.

When next his eyes shifted towards Aleasia, he found her hastily drawing her bodice up, covering herself from his view. Now there were threads of anger entwining with those fingers of jealousy. "Just what the fuck did I walk in on!" He demanded.

Aleasia stood from the bed, anger already replacing the embarrassment she had felt when she had called Severus into the room, only to find her in such a state of undress. "You will not take that tone with me, Severus!" She yelled.

"Like hell I will! Were you planning on waiting until after he fucked you to interrogate him?"

Before he realized the line he had crossed, Aleasia's hand had met with the side of his face with enough force to send his head snapping back. But when she raised another hand to strike again, he was ready. He grasped her wrists in a painful hold, shaking her until he saw physical signs of her temper receding.

How many times had he been forced to show such familiar plays of strength when they were yet lovers and she had gone into another of her many passionate fits? The memory was enough to still him, his hands still wrapped around her wrists, holding her arms between them, his eyes locked into her own.

But then, that moment too passed. He released her with a furious shove, sending her sprawling back onto the bed. He reached down to revive Lucius so they could finish the interrogation and get the hell out of there.


	9. Chapter Eight: See My Pain

**Chapter Eight:**

See My Pain...

Severus was drowning in his misguided rage, his deep sense of loss that only seemed to reimburse itself whenever Aleasia strode into the room. How foolish she had been, allowing Malfoy to take things so far that night in the run down inn! How careless of her to misjudge the amount of veritaserum she had slipped into his drink!

And how brave she had been, stepping once more into the direct line of fire, doing all she could for the cause without fear for herself.

The thought had come on suddenly, intruding upon his mind without his consent. He chased it with another tumbler of whiskey. He cursed himself for his unprecedented lack of control whenever Aleasia was involved. He loathed himself for allowing his feelings for her to color all the deceitful, empty things he now knew she was.

When she had called for him outside the hotel room, he had nearly died with the fear for her, had almost broke with the strong desire to protect her, to throw himself between whatever blow was headed her way. And when he saw Lucius lying so intimately atop her, he had so readily replaced Lucius with himself in his mind. But he turned and found her fastening the bodice of her gown over the hint of unblemished breast he had been allowed to glimpse; he had been filled with such jealousy, such anger that she had let things go too far. So upset that anyone but he should be privileged to that sight, that touch.

If he was honest with himself, he had not asked Dumbledore to be allowed to tail Aleasia that night to spite her. He had asked because he was worried for her. It had been so many years that she had been out of the game, unused to the palpable threat of danger that had once curtailed her entire life. At one time, they had often done such work together. She would manipulate, spy on known death eaters, where they lived, what they did, where they went. She had been the lead always in these excursions, for his spy role did not permit him much leeway to be caught in such circumstances. But always he would follow her; he would listen and watch her progress with an unfalteringly watchful eye, ready to give his life to protect her at a moments notice.

He had thought that his anger, his bitterness towards her would have prevented such feelings from recurring but it hadn't. He despised her all the more for that fact.

They could not report much to the Order at the next meeting other then what they had known all along, only the locations of which Voldemort suspected the amulet to be hidden. Members of the Order were dispensed immediately to trail the footsteps of the death eaters the dark lord had sent to investigate said sites. It was their hope to find the artifact first, and if they could not, then to be there when the other team did so to steal it from their own hands.

The days grew shorter as the wind blew colder. Fall setting its hand and bowing to the white of winter. Classes had dwindled, giving way to the much anticipated holiday break. The students emptied from the school, returning home to spend the yuletide with their families and friends. Only a few remained rather for circumstances such as Harry's, or by choice such as Hermione and Ron.

For Aleasia, this meant that she would be free to spend more time with her daughter. It was a slight ray of light that peeked through the thick, dark clouds of winter. They had not been able to meet much outside of class, it would have been far too suspicious when they had supposedly only just met on the carriage ride to Hogwarts. Not only that, but the business for the Order had claimed far too much of Aleasia's time, Malyia's school work claiming far too much of her own.

So it was that they sat down for dinner together in the coziness of Aleasia's quarters not three days after classes had let out. She had spent the day with her daughter, inquiring how her classes had been going, admonishing her for the low grade she had received on a Transfiguration paper she had heard about from Minerva, and testing what her daughter had learned by challenging her to a duel. It was all done amidst much laughter and merriment.

"You actually cooked?" Malyia asked as she emerged from the lavatory having just relished in a bath that she now knew as a luxury having lived in Gryffindor towers for so long now.

Aleasia tossed her a saucy smile over her shoulder, gathering a couple plates and bringing them over to the table. "Would you believe me if I said 'yes'?"

"No." Malyia reached out a hand to pick a slice of fresh bread out of the basket sitting in the middle of the table and popping a piece into her mouth. "Probably you just flooed down to the kitchens." She took another bite, nodding her head in the process. "Yeah, there's no way you could have made something this good."

Her mother retaliated by throwing a cloth napkin in her face. "Hey!"

They tucked themselves into the table, settling down for the meal that had indeed been made by the caring hands of the house elves, their joking set aside for the moment. Malyia had never been to a boarding school before; she had never known what it was like to live away from her mother for such long periods

"I thought perhaps we could invite your friends to join us on Christmas. It would give them a bit of time. Always she was home before dinner, and Aleasia had always cherished the evenings when her daughter would aid her in the kitchen, usually just setting the table and transferring the contents from the take-out bags onto plates and into bowls. Then they would sit together at the table, just as they were doing now, and share the little, unimportant details that constructed their day and trade hilarious stories about people they had witnessed. They had both missed those nights far more than either of them had realized.

"I thought perhaps we could invite your friends to join us on Christmas. It would give them a little more intimate holiday."

Malyia looked up from the steaming bowl of beef stew that had been set in front of her, surprised that her mother would suggest such a thing given their current circumstances. "Wouldn't that look suspicious?"

"Maybe not. The staff all knows of my training sessions with Harry and the extra time I have been spending with Ron and Hermione. They won't give it much thought that I would extend such an offer."

"Then yeah, I think that would be great!" She offered her mother a vibrant smile, once more reminded of what a blessing this move to England had actually been for more then just the incredible new friends she had made.

Aleasia studied the hidden thoughts that lurked behind her daughter's eyes, recognizing the soft gleam in their onyx depths for exactly what it was.

"Have you forgiven me yet for moving you here?"

"Have you forgiven me yet for moving you here?" Aleasia asked as though she had been wholly aware of Malyia's train of thought all this time.

"Of course I have. In fact..." Malyia shrugged her shoulder's, struggling to find the right words to say to express to her mother the joy she felt at finally claiming a place in her mother's old home, the home she herself always should have had. "I am just really happy here. Getting to know all the people you used to tell me about when I was growing up. They may not know that I'm your daughter, but it still feels like I'm being surrounded by family. The closest thing to a family we have at least."

Aleasia noticed the way her daughter's voice had faltered at the end of her answer, the way her eyes had suddenly shifted back to her bowl, her brow furrowed in thought. She set down her own spoon, reaching for Malyia's hand across the table. "What are you thinking?"

"Just...I don't know. I asked you about my father before we left the states and I just wondered--"

Aleasia shook her head, interrupting her daughter with sharp words spoken in mounting anger.Aleasia stood from the table quickly, turning her back to her daughter and carrying her bowl to the sink. Her actions were distinctly angry. "Malyia, don't!" She pushed herself away from the table, throwing her napkin down atop her plate and moving away from the face that she knew would only look upon her with insistent questions written upon the smooth skin.

Only Malyia had been struggling with her emotions ever since they had come to Hogwarts. She was happy here, truly she was, but being around all those who had played prominent roles in her mother's past was like a constant reminder that she had never been allowed the chance to get to know them when she was younger. She had never been allowed to get to know her father. Her anger quickly forced its way to the surface. She abandoned her own seat, her arm reaching out to keep her mother from walking away.

But Malyia's temper was just as fierce as her mother's and her own anger was quickly making its way to the surface. "Why not?" She demanded, her voice rising to a shout that was dripping with long suppressed pain. " Every time I mention this you get this way! All...silent and upset! I don't know why you and my father didn't stay together, but if this is all about some bitterly harbored feelings you still have for him, then it's really selfish of you to not tell me about him, to not let me see him!"

Aleasia turned swiftly back towards her daughter, beyond was furious at theher daughter's behavior. The disrespect and accusation that so blatantly lied beneath her daughter's was blatant in her raised voice. How dare she act so ungrateful, so bitter towards her! All these years she had done nothing but sacrificeShe had sacrificed her own happiness, her own dreams to better Malyia's her daughter's life, to keep her out of harms way. All of . She had done all this, she had done without even the faintest hint of regret! Now here she was, tossed back into the home she had once known where everything was so much the same as she had left it and so obviously different. It felt as though every corner she rounded, every room she strode into there was a shadow that followed her, whispering temptations and false promises of a life she wanted desperately but would never be able to claim. Now she had been tossed back into these familiar halls, forced to see Severus every goddamned day, her heart breaking all over again, and this is how her daughter thanked her!

SoBefore she walked now, blind in all her aching fury,could even process her own intent, she stalked towards her daughter with determination in every step. She could not process her intent, could not thoroughly think through her actions that were solely driven by, raising a pain that had not been caused by Malyia. She raised her hand when she was but a step away from her daughter, crashing her open palm down againstand slapping her across the side of her face.

Malyia gasped in both shock and pain, bringing a hand to cradle the cheek her mother had struck. There was no trace of her anger left, only a deep sense of hurt and remorse.

"You've never hit me before." She whispered, a beginning wetness evident behind her trembling words.

Aleasia let out a long breath, combing a hand through her hair and turning her back to hide her tears from Malyia so as to hide her tears.Malyia's eyes. "No, and I never will again. I'm sorry."

Malyia came around her mother slowly, half afraid she would be struckstuck again if she made any sudden movements. But then , but when she saw her mother crying, watched her shoulders shake with unrestrained emotion, and her fear dissipated. She came close enough She reached out two arms to reach two arms wrap around her mother's waist, resting her head in the crook of her mother's neck. "I'm so sorry. I never should have yelled at you like that, you didn't deserve it."

Aleasia returned her daughter's embrace, guiding her over to the sofa where they could sit to calm their tempers without once releasing her hold. Many minutes passed, seated together on that sofa, when they were content to simply holdholding each other in front of a blazing fire, allowing all the words, all the declarations they might have said in the throes of anger to drift back into the deep crevices of their minds, far enough away to not fear their escape. When their tears showed no signs of wanting to dry up they only clung tighter to one another, seeking comfort. Aleasia reached a hand out to smooth across her daughter's back. Their tears showed no signs of wanting to dry so they only clung tighter to one another for comfort. She brushed a hand through Malyia's dark hair, hoping to soothe away the pain.

"You have seen him, haven't you? My father I mean, you've seen him since we've come back here."

Aleasia's hand stilled asin the silence was so recklessly obliterated intolocks of her daughter's hair, resuming the past. She hesitated, warily contemplating what answerslow movements after a moment's hesitation when she could give her daughtercontemplated how to answer.

"Why do you ask me this?"

Malyia pulled gently out of her mother's arms, looking up intorepositioning herself on the couch so that she could look her face without pretending subtlety.mother in the eye. "I've asked you about him ever since I was a little girl. You would never tell me anything about him, but neither did you ever show such anger when I mentioned him, like you did tonight."

Aleasia was silent a minute, tossing her daughter's words back and fourth in her mind and wondering why she had never realized how deep was her pain when it came to her father, or how by keeping her silence she had only added to it. "Yes, love. I have seen him."

But no more was said that night.

She could not sleep. Since she had come back to these corridors, haunted with memories long since screaming their constant presence in every corner Aleasia passed, she had not been able to sleep through the night. Not with Severus sleeping in his own chambers just two floors below her. But now that her daughter had confronted her, had so unknowingly revealed the extent of pain she was in, Aleasia could not sleep at all.

She had caused her daughter this pain. She had torn her away from any chance of having a father when she left Severus all those years ago. But she was forced to, she had to in order to keep her safe. Why did this knowledge, this reassurance that she had done the right thing to protect her daughter, not bring her any peace?

She should have at least answered her daughter's questions when she came to her, eagerly wanting to know about her father. She should have voiced her thoughts then, on those occasions when , every time the light would hit her daughter's face, just so, and revealrevealed the shadows that were so familiarly Severus. She should have said, every time when Malyia's her daughter's dry, sarcastic humor came to play how alike her father was in that regard.so replicated Severus' own. She should have told her daughter these things, so at least she could have built an image of her father in her mind, to cherish and holdeven when she could not wrap her arms aroundcherish the real person.

But she hadn't and her silence had only caused her daughter's daughter more pain to spread its roots, to furrow more deeply.

Gods, she was a failure. She had failed when she had left Severus, creeping from his bed not three hours after they had made passionate love, an act of farewell that was significant to her not daring to tell him of her pregnancy, to warn him of her departure whether he knew so at the time or not. She had failed by not daring to tell him of her pregnancy, to warn him of her leaving. But then he would only have soothed her with his words, lulled her into conceding back into his arms by promising her they would find another solution. And she would have believed him, when he stood so near, looked upon her with eyes that ran deep wells of love, she would have believed anything he might have tried to say. And stop her, and she could not so endanger his life that way. Could not endanger her child's. There was no other solution to be had, she had thought too hard and too long on it all. If there had been another that way out, she would have already stumbled upon it.

And now. Now she was failing again. For she had failed her daughter whenas a mother. When she had moved Malyia around, flitting from here to there, never staying long enough in any one place to be able to establish a stable life. Not allowing her daughter time enough to make close friends, to know a childhood carefree of such lonesomeness she was now sure her daughter had felt, despite all her hope that just being with her mother would be was enough to fill such burdensome voids.

Now she was failing again. Unable to rectify this situation for her daughter, for herself. Unable to just turn to Severus, to tell him what had happened all those years ago, to make him understand. Was it pride that stood in her way, was it the deep throbbing pain?

If she were indeed so shallow as that then she would now have to come to terms with despising herself.

Aleasia threw the covers from her body, not even pausing to throw a robe over her nightgown before she walked out of her apartments, making her slow way to the dungeons. She thought briefly of easing her needs in the infirmary, but Pompfrey would only beg to know what troubled her enough to cause her lack of sleep, and she did not think that she was in any state to be able to deflect such questions effectively.

So she made the familiar passage to Severus' private laboratory, figuring she could at least spend her night brewing a potion that would help aid her tomorrow night if she could not find anything to aid her tonight. It was better than, then lying fitfully in a pile of blankets for the remaining hours of the night, the clock at her bedside that would only serving to remind her of the sleep she was not getting now. She thought it would be a slim chance indeed to come across Severus in the lab, so late in the night.

But she had failed to anticipate that Severus might still be awake, still holed up within the brisk cold that ever lingered in the basement walls of his labHow wrong she was.

She had just pushed throughspelled open the thick granite doors ofto come into the dark lab when her eyes caught sight of a lone figure huddled near the low glow of a lone candle.burning light coming from the furthest corner of the room. Gods, he was there, he . This was actually there. It was just as well, hell, the way her night had been going she should have known he would be here. It was the only other thingall she needed to make her night complete. She supposed it was too late to turn around, hoping he had not seen her when she found his eyes already marking her presence, sweeping her body in an assessing glance.

Finding that he had already marked her presence, his eyes busily assessing her in a sweeping gaze that took in every inch of her person despite the dark of the night, she supposed it was too late to turn around and hope he hadn't seen her.

She looked down upon herself, wondering what it was that had held his gaze so long. Only , only now remembering that she had failed to change before she left her rooms. She was stillthe lack of clothes she was currently wearing her. Her nightgown made ofwas long black silk, trimmed with lace that lay teasingly across the top swells of her breast and the tracing the seams of the front slit that opened widely in the front to reveal the her long lengths of leg beneath.

. As though she were not vulnerable enough in his presence...

"I hope this is not a pathetic attempt to seduce me. I'm afraid you have long since lost that ability." Reached his cold voice, breeching the distance between them and sending shivers down the warmth of her flesh.

Aleasia battled down the anger, recognizing that she did not have the strength to argue with him in her weak, sleep deprived state. So she said nothing, only wrappedShe wrapper her arms around her bodyself in a poor attempt to shield herself from his view. A sound spilled from the back of his throat, somewhere between a laugh and a grunt.

"I have seen it all before, Aleasia."

"Not for a long time you haven't. Things are different now."

"I've noticed." Of all the things he could have said, this dry remark issued from his mouth in sarcastic ferocity had the effect to call to the surface the deep wells of longing that had been lurking behind her cool facade all these past long weeks.

She battled that down too.

She walked forward, slowly, as though she were a mouth able to debatedebating the wisdom of coming too to near the flame.fire. "I did not think you would be down here so late."

"Indeed?" How easily he could mold his face into looking calm, as though her presence had no effect on him one way or the other. How damned she was that she could no longer reach behind the mask. " Then, prey tell, why are you here?"

"I...needed a potion."

"There are innumerable, stocked in the infirmary. Surely you could find something there?"

"I thought to brew it myself." She steppedwalked ever nearer, her answers only a quiet toss of words, picked carefully amidst a field of sharp knives so as careful enough not to avoid invokinginvoke a sharp duel of cutting remarks. She would die if she lost any more blood this night.

She stepped into the dim light and Severus could not stem the concern that arose within him at the sight of her pale skin and faded eyes. The question fell from his lips before he was able to push it aside. "Are you ill?"

He stood from his seat in a quick gesture born of a need to assurewanting to ensure himself of her health, but he halted his progress before he could take another step towards her, reminding himself that he no longer cared for her as he once did. It was not his job to cure her sickness anymore.

She gave forth a hollow laugh that seemed to him to be tinged with bitterness on the edges. "No, just tired."

They were silent a minute, their eyes locked in a gaze that might have said much if they had both not been too stubborn to read it. She pulled hers away first, glancing at the worktable for the first time and noticing the piles of parchment that littered its surface, a bold, hurried scrawl filling every inch of space the quill could find. She stepped closer unconsciously, her interest intrigued as she recognized the writing for what it was; many years of research and theories that Severus had developed. He must have been reviewing them tonight, hoping to inspire new ideas that he could test in the lab. Ever searching for the answers to the riddles.

She bent over the table, her golden curls falling to veil one side of her face as she reached her hands out to caress the pages, her fingers tracing his familiar script. Her eyes drank in the words, the formulas with a thirst she had not felt in years...fifteen to be exact.

All the while was she watched. Severus observed her every motion, her every expression as they fluttered across her lovely face, brows furrowed in thought. He did not know why he could not rekindle his anger at this very moment, why he could not move to toss her out of his laboratory, stop her from reading his work as he should do.

She looked up sharply, a question to be found in her glittering eyes. "This is...but this is the same theory we had written before I--" She broke off, suddenly, lest she needlessly remind them both of all she had left behind, all she had ruined when she had left those many seasons ago. "...Surely it could not have been so close to the answer as to still serve your work as a guideline?"

He nodded briefly. "There are many flaws still that I have not worked out, but the base has served me well." He moved to reclaim his stool, folding himself into the table once more and shifting his work as though to continue. She had always motivated him, always inspired him to reach his potential. Her mere presence now was encouraging him to rearrange formulas and alter measurements and orders of ingredients. He eager to continue his work.

He knew well when she settled down beside him, reaching for his notes and reading them, taking each particle of information in with the interest of the potions mistress she was and, with the intensity of the scholar she was. "Lycanthropy...to think you could be so close to a cure...and at such an opportune time, it could--"

"Shift the war. I know, but I feel I am no where close enough to develop it in time."

Minutes passed, no hours. They sat side by side, Severus with opened texts lying across his lap, atop the table before him, searching for something new that he could use. Aleasia with her mind buried in the dissection of his notes, his research already done. He felt a thrill of excitement when she reached for a spare length of parchment, dipping his quill in the ink well and scribbling her own notes and questions down as she read.

How many nights had they spent like this when they were yet together? How many theories they had tested, brewing potions that would require one or both of their presence for hours on end while they waited to see how each ingredient would interact with the other, what time intervals were correct and which had to be altered. How many times had they turned to each other with triumphant smiles when they had succeeded, sweat filming their brows, stripped down to a bare minimal of clothing having stood in the rapidly heating lab for sotheir robes draped over long since used stools? How many times had he reached for her at such times, celebrated by caging her against a wall or sitting her atop a table and moving between her legs, making love to her, wanting to share the joy she added to the sense of accomplishment that was already there.

He felt his body stir with the memories and with them, he was finally able to feel the raging tendrils of anger. He slapped the book he had been holding down atop the counter, causing Aleasia to jump beside him, the quill falling from her fingers in surprise. "Severus--"

"Get out." He whispered, his voice trembling with emotions he did not care for her to hear.

"But I--"

"Get out. You do not belong here anymore."

Aleasia closed her eyes for a moment, wanting to deny the tears that his words had so quickly brought to the surface. Without much thought, she reached across to slide a finger along his strong cheek, wanting to erase the tight lines of rage that now etched across his face.

Feeling her cool touch trace against his skin, he He stood in such haste a swift, sudden movement that the stool cluttered to the ground behind him. He would do anything, run any length of distance to escape the feel of her. He swiftly clasped a tight hand around her wrist, yanking her to her feet, wanting to push her away from him, out of his sight, his reach. But she had already anticipated his move, had already known that he would start fighting against the feelings she was stirring deep inside his heart. She flung herself against him before he could guess her intentions, and he felt her lips pressing against his own.

But AleasiaHe groaned with the want, the need of her. His mind was tired, so very tired of it all. Of havingscreaming for him to wake up everyday feeling this burdened, this heartbroken, havingpull away from her, to suppress every urge that sprang withintoss her at the sightout of this darkly handsome man. Attempting to hide the smiles his quiet, sarcastic wit inspired. Unwilling to show the tears his burning hatred for her started coursing behind her eyes. So she threw herself into him, pressed her lips incessantly against his own. She tore her wrist free from his grasp, sliding her arm around his shoulder, the other to twine in the hair at the back of his neck.

He willed his body not to respond, willed his heart to forget her song, it was for naught. The feel of her so wantonly sealed against him, her breasts pressed sweetly into the firmness of his chest, how could he not remember how it was when he was free to take her to his bed. To lay with her and to touch her until he could hear her moaning in his arms.lab. But he could not. The feel of her tongue tracing his lips was too appealing, the press of her breasts against his chest was to enticing. With a defeat he did not know had claimed him, he wrapped his arms around her like steel bands, fitting her to him as always he had. Relishing, relishing in the discovery that she still fit to with him like two pieces of a puzzle.

He pushed her further into himself, until she could feel his hardness pressing into abdomen. She had no time to acknowledge her triumph, it was too fast replaced with the incredible feel of his hands sliding over her body, his tongue slipping between her lips to duel with her own. She could not think past the racing of her heart and the shallowness of her breathing.

Yes, her heart screamed, this is where I belong, this is how it should be!

Severus moved a hand between them, to trail slowly up her stomach until he could feel the weight of her breast leaning into his palm. He stroked a thumb across her hardened nipple and the moan that issued forth from her parted mouth was at last enough to return him to his senses. With more force than he intended, he pushed her away from him. The unexpected movement and the force of his arms sent her sprawling to the ground. He did not notice.

She hated him for not noticing.

Instead, he had turned slightly away from her, so she was looking upon his profile. He wiped a hand across his mouth as though hoping to rid himself of the taste of her. Aleasia had been right, she would surely die from the bleeding that was pouring from this new cut in her heart.

Severus strode briskly away from her, walking towards a cabinet kept in the wall above one of the many sinks in the laboratory. He pulled a small vial from the shelf then returned to where Aleasia had yet to right herself from the ground. He tossed the vial into her lap, then she watched as he made his way to the door that hid a flight of stairs. They would take him to his chambers where he could once more drink her from his mind.

Aleasia waited until the door slammed shut behind his retreating figure before she made to move off the floor. She stood slowly, holding the vial tightly in a fist all the while. She did not look at it, could not even register the feel of its weight in her hand, until she had come back to her own rooms.

It was a sleeping draught.


End file.
